Meanings
plural censers
- An ornamental container for burning incense, especially during religious ceremonies.
Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer / Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.
1859 [1845], Edgar Allan Poe, “The Raven”, in The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe, volumes II: Poems and Tales1 more example
A thousand wax tapers burned in honour of the Madonna. Four beautiful children swung the silver censers before her picture, till a cloud of incense arose and floated in broken masses to the fretted roof, and the whole air was heavy with perfume.
1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter X, in Romance and Reality. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 215Synonyms: incense burner, thurible
- A person who censes, a person who perfumes with incense.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn ornamental container for burning incense, especially during religious ceremonies.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna container for burning incense (especially one that is swung on a chain in a religious ritual)
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Frenchencensier
- Anglo-Normancensier
- Middle Englishcenser
- Englishcenser
Inherited from Middle English censer, from Anglo-Norman censier, from Old French encensier, from encens (“incense”).
More words from Middle English, Anglo-Norman, Old French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek θῡμῐᾱτήρῐον, θυίσκη
- θῡμῐᾱτήρῐον (thūmĭātḗrĭon)ornamental container for burning incense
- θυίσκη (thuískē)ornamental container for burning incense
Arabic مَبْخَرَة
- مَبْخَرَة (mabḵara)ornamental container for burning incense
Bulgarian кади́лница
- кади́лница (kadílnica)ornamental container for burning incense
Catalan encenser, peveter
- encenserornamental container for burning incense
- peveterornamental container for burning incense
- turíbulornamental container for burning incense
Chinese Mandarin 香爐 /香炉
- 香爐 /香炉 (xiānglú)ornamental container for burning incense
Czech kadidelnice
- kadidelniceornamental container for burning incense
Danish røgelseskar
- røgelseskarornamental container for burning incense
Dutch wierookvat
- wierookvatornamental container for burning incense
Finnish suitsutusastia, kadilo
- suitsutusastiaornamental container for burning incense
- kadiloornamental container for burning incense
- suitsuttajaperson who censes
French encensoir
- encensoirornamental container for burning incense
German Duftrauchbrenner, Weihrauchfass
- Duftrauchbrennerornamental container for burning incense
- Weihrauchfassornamental container for burning incense
- Rauchfassornamental container for burning incense
- Thuribulumornamental container for burning incense
- Turibulumornamental container for burning incense
- Weihrauchschwenkerperson who censes
Greek θυμιατό
- θυμιατό (thymiató)ornamental container for burning incense
Indonesian pedupaan, wiruk
- pedupaanornamental container for burning incense
- wirukornamental container for burning incense
- turibulumornamental container for burning incense
Irish túiseán
- túiseánornamental container for burning incense
Italian turìbolo, incensière
- turìboloornamental container for burning incense
- incensièreornamental container for burning incense
Japanese 香炉
- 香炉 (kōro)ornamental container for burning incense
Korean 향로
- 향로 (hyangno)ornamental container for burning incense
Latin thūribulum
- thūribulumornamental container for burning incense
Māori oko tahu kakara
- oko tahu kakaraornamental container for burning incense
Polish kadzidło, trybularz
- kadzidłoornamental container for burning incense
- trybularzornamental container for burning incense
- kadzielnicaornamental container for burning incense
- osoba kadzącaperson who censes
Portuguese turíbulo, incensário
- turíbuloornamental container for burning incense
- incensárioornamental container for burning incense
Romanian cădelniță
- cădelnițăornamental container for burning incense
Russian кади́ло, кури́льница
- кади́ло (kadílo)ornamental container for burning incense
- кури́льница (kurílʹnica)ornamental container for burning incense
- кади́льница (kadílʹnica)ornamental container for burning incense
Slovak kadidelnica
- kadidelnicaornamental container for burning incense
Spanish incensario, botafumeiro
- incensarioornamental container for burning incense
- botafumeiroornamental container for burning incense
- turíbuloornamental container for burning incense
- pebeteroornamental container for burning incense
- turíferoornamental container for burning incense
Swedish rökelsekar
- rökelsekarornamental container for burning incense
Tagalog dupaan, insensaryo
- dupaanornamental container for burning incense
- insensaryoornamental container for burning incense
Turkish buhurdan, buhurcu
- buhurdanornamental container for burning incense
- buhurcuperson who censes
Ukrainian кади́ло, кади́льниця
- кади́ло (kadýlo)ornamental container for burning incense
- кади́льниця (kadýlʹnycja)ornamental container for burning incense
Vietnamese lư hương
- lư hươngornamental container for burning incense
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with censer
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
censer. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/censer
“censer.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/censer. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “censer,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/censer.
Source: censer on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.